Simple math was the only factor on the Syracuse Crunch's side Friday night.

It was enough to boot the team into the AHL playoffs, with the players holding their sticks with one hand and their noses with another.

Syracuse put on a display of bargain basement hockey by losing to Hershey 4-1 at the War Memorial. Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman watched from the pressbox as a lineup both ravaged by callups and drained of passion carried its pregame nap from the afternoon well past the opening faceoff.

But because Albany and Manchester also fell on Friday, the Crunch was assured of one of eight Eastern Conference passes into the postseason party.

"In this sport, it seems like you are always living in the moment,'' said Crunch forward Dan Sexton. "It's always, what have you done lately. Lately, we haven't done much. We're happy to be in the playoffs, but at the same time it's bitter-sweet.''

The loss left new Crunch head coach Rob Zettler 0-4 since getting promoted to that position from the assistant's spot almost two weeks. Zettler implored his team beforehand to earn its playoff ticket with a win, but when the berth was announced in the War Memorial with just a few minutes left in the game it was apparent that wasn't going to happen.

"I heard,'' Zettler said of the announcement. "I guess at the end of the day we knew we'd get in. It just didn't feel good. We wanted to win to get in.''

Syracuse didn't come close to that goal because it continued to play like nothing else will count until the playoffs start. The offense has posted just nine goals in its last seven games and the team's power-play drought it now 0-for-29 and counting.

"One we get in their zone, I'm seeing us kind of stand instead of moving the puck,'' Zettler said.

Tomas Kundratek scored twice for Hershey while Peter LeBlanc and Boyd Kane all scored for the Bears, while J.F. Jacques unearthed the only score of the contest for the Crunch.

LeBlanc scored at the 10:06 mark of the third to virtually lock away the game. Bursting down the left wing, he split Crunch defensemen Mark Barberio and Andrej Sustr. He then went high far side to beat Syracuse netminder Cedrick Desjardins from a tough angle.

Hershey outshot the Crunch 27-23, just the second time in 19 contests Syracuse has lost in that statistical department.

"They won all the little battles,'' Zettler said.

"We are playing teams that are desperate. They (Hershey) looked like a team that is trying to make the playoffs. We sat back,'' said Syracuse captain Mike Angelidis. "There are things we have to correct. We have to stay positive. Just bringing the heart and passion.''

Kundratek posted the sole score of the second period to give his team a 2-1 edge heading into the second intermission. Exploiting 4-on-4 play, he was 15 feet away from the nearest Syracuse defender, alone in the slot, when he took a pass from Grant Potulny and easily beat Desjardins low stick side with 38.2 seconds left.

Jacques finally put the Crunch on the scoreboard at the 17:08 mark of the first, on the team's fourth and final shot of the period.

Angelidis flipped the puck at Jacques in front of Hershey goalie Philipp Grubauer, and the power forward got a piece of it for a deflection that thudded into the netminder. The rebound skittered right back to Jacques, and he had enough time to put back a rebound to tie the game at 1-1.

The Bears spoke up first on a similar play at the 9:18 mark. Kane was free and clear out front of Desjardins, and he tipped a rip by Dmitry Orlov from the right point past the goalie.

Three players made their Crunch debuts on Friday: Sustr and forwards Philippe Paradis and Tanner Richard.

Sustr was a free-agent signing out of Nebraska-Omaha who first broke into the pros with two games with the Lightning. Richard is a Tampa Bay draft pick who was signed when his junior season in Guelph ended. Paradis was picked up in a trade from Rockford earlier this week.

In other news Friday, Tampa Bay recalled defenseman Matt Taormina. Taormina is a replacement for Victor Hedman, who is day to day with a lower body ailment.